Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic)

The Protectors 3

MARLA MONROE

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

“Let go of me, asshole!”

The big, burly truck driver had at least a hundred pounds over her, though most of it was fat. Amanda fought him, raking her nails down his arm. He cursed and raised his hand to hit her. She braced for the blow, but it never came.

“I believe the lady asked you to let her go,” a deep voice behind her said.

She looked up, and a massive arm connected to a large hand held the truck driver’s fist. She couldn’t see the stranger’s eyes behind the mirrored sunglasses.

“Stay out of this. She asked for it.”

“And now she’s saying no.” The stranger stood there, apparently easily holding the truck driver’s fist with little effort.

Evidently this worried the man, because he let go of Amanda’s arm and backed away with a snarl at her.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Amanda breathed a sigh of relief.

“If you hitch rides, you need to be prepared for that sort of attitude. You’re better off buying a bus ticket to wherever you’re going.” With this, the stranger turned and walked away.

Amanda followed him into the truck stop and then into the diner connected to it. She slid into a booth in the back so she could see the outside and the comings and goings of everyone. The stranger joined another man at a booth closer to the front of the diner. Evidently the man hadn’t noticed she had followed him and sat behind him. She took the opportunity to study both men.

Her savior stood a little over six feet tall and looked solid all over. His shaggy brown hair complemented the warm features of his handsome face. The dimple in his square jaw gave him a friendly expression, except when he had chastised her for hitching rides. She hadn’t been able to glimpse his eyes behind the shades he wore. His muscular chest tapered down to a narrow waist and slim hips. She could barely make out his taut abdomen through the tight black T-shirt he wore with his equally tight and well-worn jeans. And yeah, she’d checked out his package—impressive.

The other man was equally easy to look at with light brown hair that brushed his shoulders. Since he was sitting down, she could only guess that he stood maybe a few inches taller than her stranger. His shoulders appeared just as broad, but she couldn’t tell much more about him. All in all, they were both clean, good-looking men. She wondered if they drove trucks or if they had come in one of the many trucks or cars outside the truck stop. She glanced outside again and noticed two motorcycles as well. Maybe they were bikers, she mused.

A waitress interrupted her thoughts to ask what she could get for her to eat.

“Diet Coke, scrambled eggs, and toast please,” she said.

Amanda figured she needed to eat since all she’d had the night before had been an order of fries. She had to watch her money, but she also needed to keep her strength up. She had to be at her best to stay one jump ahead of Guy and his goons.

She had been on the road for two weeks now, and so far she’d managed to stay ahead of them. It no longer mattered where she ended up as long as it was far away from Guy, her ex-boyfriend, the bastard. Amanda had let down her guard and trusted him, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Her experience with men was that they would hurt you every time. Once again, she had been proven right.

When the waitress brought her meal, she continued to watch the two strangers as they talked between themselves. Maybe she could hitch a ride with one of them. Her stranger seemed safe enough. If he was, then the other man should be, too. Well, in a perfect world she could count on it. One thing Amanda knew was there was no such thing as a perfect world. People would disappoint you or betray you without a second thought. No, she’d learned her lesson well this time. No more trusting anyone again.

Once she finished her meal, she watched them closely to see what they would do next. They were obviously finished and looked to be getting ready to go. She checked her bill and figured out the tip, then left enough money to cover both. If she were going to try to catch a ride with one of them, she needed to be ready.

The two men got up and walked outside toward the two motorcycles parked between a truck and an old car that had seen better days. Evidently they were on the bikes—even better. Bikes meant they couldn’t try to wrestle her in the backseat of a vehicle. She stood up and made her way toward the outside doors. Just as she stepped outside in their direction, the two men bumped fists, and the second man got on his bike and started it. He pulled on a helmet and roared off. She hurried to catch the stranger before he could do the same.

Amanda quietly walked up behind him. He suddenly stood up, looking straight ahead, and stopped fiddling with his helmet.

“What do you want?” he asked, somehow knowing she was there.

“A ride.”

“Didn’t you learn your lesson earlier?” He turned around and removed his sunglasses.

He had hazel eyes the color of a fall afternoon. He stared intently at her.

“I figured you’re safe,” she said with a shrug. “You can’t manhandle me on a bike while you’re driving.”

“Oh, I’m far from being safe, little girl.”

“I’m not a little girl. I’m twenty-eight,” she said with venom.

“Really. I kind of doubt that.” He pulled on his helmet and opened his saddlebag to fiddle with something inside.

“I can prove it. My driver’s license has my date of birth on it. You want to see it?”

He shook his head. “Don’t you even want to know which way I’m going? I might be headed back the way you came.”

“I don’t care where. Just away from here.” Amanda hadn’t thought he might not be heading in the right direction, but right now, she was desperate, and doubling back might be a good way to throw Guy off her trail.

He pulled out a helmet from the saddlebag and threw it at her. She caught it, dropping her pack as she did.

“I’m headed north, that good for you?” he asked.

“Perfect.” And it was. Any way away from Memphis, Tennessee, would be good. She had made it as far west as Texas, so north would be great.

“Get your pack back on, and let’s go. Oh, and my name is Morgan Garrett. What’s yours?”

“Amanda.”

At his raised eyebrow, she shrugged.

“Just Amanda,” she repeated.

“Well, just Amanda, hop on.” He swung his leg over the big bike and waited for her to climb on behind him.

She put her pack back on and settled on the seat behind him, loosely holding on to his waist. When he pulled out of the parking lot, she found she had to hold on a little tighter. The wind pulled at the pack on her back. She kept some distance between her chest and his back.

The first fifteen or twenty miles were made in silence. Then he called back to her.

“Hold on a little tighter. I’m only doing sixty, and the speed limit is seventy here. I’m going to speed up.”

Amanda wrapped her arms around his waist and shouted back, “Okay.”

The thought occurred to her that he couldn’t help but feel her breasts plastered to his back. They were already sensitive, but now they ached as well.

She loved the feeling of the powerful engine between her legs and could well understand why men loved having bikes. She wondered about Morgan and why he was on the road. Was he just on a road trip, or did he live on the go? Then she wondered if he had someone special in his life. Where had that come from? It wasn’t like she was interested, but she had noticed he didn’t wear a wedding band. Of course, she knew better than anyone how true an indicator that really was. Somehow she couldn’t see him belonging to anyone but himself.

* * * *

Morgan drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He couldn’t ignore the feel of her lush breasts pressed against his back. With her arms wrapped around his waist, he knew more about her body than he needed to know. Of course, he had already noted everything about her luscious body before she climbed up on the bike behind him. The top of her head came about to his chin. Bright blue eyes the color of a robin’s egg adorned her heart-shaped face. Strawberry blonde hair hung just past her shoulders with a slight curl at the ends. She had womanly curves in all the right places. Her ass was to die for, perfect and squeezable. Yeah, he’d noticed, all right. His balls burned and his cock ached for a piece of her. But he wasn’t going there. She was off-limits.

Morgan truly doubted she was as old as she claimed, driver’s license or no driver’s license. She looked too innocent for her own good. When he had noticed the truck driver harassing her, he’d left Tyler to get a table for them and walked over to see what was going on. If it were just a fight between a couple, he’d have left it alone, but she obviously didn’t want any part of the big, overgrown bastard. When the idiot had raised his hand to strike her, Morgan saw red. Men didn’t hit women, no matter what they did.

So what was he doing courting trouble by giving her a ride? He told himself it was to keep her safe. If she continued hitching with truck drivers, she was bound to pay for it before she got to wherever she was going. He knew better, though. He’d offered the ride because he wanted to be around her. Her saucy mouth and voluptuous body turned him on in a big way. But he wasn’t going to take advantage of it.

Sure, he’d had his share of women lately, but this was the first time he actually wanted to know more about a woman than her bra size. By the feel of her breasts against his back, he had a pretty good idea of hers. When he had advised her to hold on tighter so he could up his speed, he’d cock-jumped big-time at the feel of those beauties pressing even tighter against his back. His already oversensitive balls had tightened even more. He couldn’t blame it on the vibrations of the bike either. They had reacted to the totally feminine body holding tightly to his.

His original plan had been to ride up to see Dodge, one of his old army buddies. He still planned to do that, but figured he’d find out where she planned to go and ride her all the way there to assure she didn’t get into any more trouble. Then he could visit Dodge and find out how he’d been doing since his medical discharge four years ago. He had lost part of his leg to shrapnel and still seemed to be depressed from what Tyler had told him.

Truth was, Morgan hadn’t been in any shape to see him until recently. He’d been just as depressed as Dodge. He hoped he could do something to bring his friend out of it. Tyler planned to meet him there in a couple of weeks. He had other business to tend to first.

Nearly four hours later, he pulled into a small town on the other side of the Texas border. He needed gas, and they both needed to stretch their legs. He figured they could eat while they were there. He also wanted to find out where exactly she wanted to go. He stopped at the first decent-sized gas station he came to.

“Go ahead and get off. I need to get gas. We’ll find somewhere here to eat lunch,” Morgan said.

He watched as she walked around a little, getting her legs back under her after the long ride. He figured she was vibrating all over by now. The idea of her pussy vibrating around his cock made him groan. She turned her head to look at him with a curious look.

“Why don’t you go inside and ask about places to eat while I gas up?”

She nodded and turned toward the building. Morgan watched her walk away, noting the gentle rocking of her delectable ass. Yeah, this was going to be a long trip. He needed to find out where she was headed and get her there as fast as possible.

A few minutes later, she returned just as he tightened the cap on the bike’s gas tank. She stopped next to the bike and stuffed her hands into her back pockets. It threw her breasts out, and his mouth watered.

“We have two choices. There’s a steak house further down this road on the left or a mom-and-pop diner in the opposite direction on the right. What sounds good to you?”